Happy birthday Javed Akhtar: From 'Mashaal' to 'Meri Jung' classic hits of the 80s written by legendary writer

(Pic courtesy: Twitter)

Javed Akhtar Birthday 2024: Behind every successful movie, there's a visionary director they say. But the one who sets the blueprint of the stories that help filmmakers to rake in the moolah and turn an ordinary actor into a superstar is none other than the genius called writer, and Javed Akhtar is one such genius. A poet, lyricist, and screenwriter, Javed Akhtar is a multifaceted personality who changed the course of Indian cinema with his stellar writing skills. Javed Akhtar along with Salim Khan was renowned as India's most popular writer duo who together gave some of the greatest hits of all time, like 'Trishul', 'Deewar', 'Kaala Patthar, 'Don', 'Sholay', 'Mr. India' among several others. The notable duo who created Amitabh Bachchan's iconic 'angry young man' image with 'Zanjeer' in 1973, unfortunately, split up and ended their professional relationship in the 80s. While Salim-Javed collectively delivered over 20 movies, Akhtar alone has scripted stories of more than 15 movies. Apart from movies, the legendary writer has also penned evergreen songs and memorable dialogues that are cherished by cinema lovers.

On Javed Akhtar's birthday, let's take a look at some of the most striking movies of the 80s that were penned by the eminent writer and everybody's favourite.

Mashaal: The 1984 superhit movie which starred Anil Kapoor, Waheeda Rahman, Rati Agnihotri, and tragedy king, Dilip Kumar is a classic movie which was directed by Yash Chopra. For the unversed, the movie was based on popular Marathi play 'Ashroonchi Zhali Phule'. One of the most impactful movies of the 80s, 'Mashaal' was written by Javed Akhtar. While performances of the lead actors were widely appreciated by the audiences back then, the movie is still remembered for Dilip Saab's iconic dialogue, "Ae bhai".

Betaab: The 1983 romantic blockbuster which marked Sunny Deol's debut alongside Amrita Singh, 'Betaab' was one of the most sensational movies of the 80s. Written by Javed Akhtar, the Sunny Deol-starrer was helmed by Rahul Rawail. From garnering critical to commercial acclaim, the movie was declared a blockbuster in all respects back in the 80s. The film which brought Sunny and Amrita into the spotlight, Akhtar won accolades as the new-age romantic writer of Bollywood back in the 80s.

Meri Jung: The 1985 hit legal drama, 'Meri Jung' was directed by Subhash Ghai starred Anil Kapoor, Meenakshi Sheshadri, Nutan, Amrish Puri, and Javed Jaffery in key roles. The Subhash Ghai directorial established Anil Kapoor as a powerful actor. Apart from the stellar performance of the actor, the strong script written by Javed Saab was the soul of the movie. Besides winning two Filmfare awards, 'Meri Jung' was also nominated in a lot of Filmfare categories including Best Film.

Arjun: After the success of 'Betaab', director Rahul Rawail, and writer Javed Akhtar joined forces to deliver yet another hit called, 'Arjun'. The 1985 action movie which was headlined by Sunny Deol also starred Dimple Kapadia and was declared a 'super hit' at the box office. The movie which was remade in different regional languages down south, 'Arjun' garnered a lot of praise for its powerful storytelling, all thanks to Javed Akhtar.

Main Azaad Hoon: Starring Amitabh Bachchan and Shabana Azmi in lead roles, the 1989 critical hit drama was adapted from the 1941 American drama, 'Meet John Doe'. The heavy-loaded drama is one of the finest films Big B has been a part of. While its offbeat treatment without quite catering to the masses didn't really make it a blockbuster, the film over the years registered itself as quite a cult. Besides penning down the story, Javed Akhtar's impactful dialogues were widely praised by critics and audiences alike.